Sustainability in Kansas City where we are and where we’re going ppt

Green Building Council and other independent sources Kansas City, Mo., might be known for its jazz history, stride piano and barbecue sauce, but it’s also making strides in city sustaina

Sustainability

in Kansas City

where we are and where we’re going

,

Recognizing that cities across the country are providing energy-efficient, least polluting and healthy living spaces, The Green Guide presents the environmental leaders, those cities whose green achievements set the standard for others

– 2006 National Geographic Green Guide that ranked Kansas City, Mo., 25th out of all 251 metropolitan areas with populations

of 100,000 or more, based on information from Mayors’ offices, the Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S Green Building Council and other independent sources

Kansas City, Mo., might be known for its jazz history, stride piano and barbecue sauce, but it’s also making strides in city sustainability

– 2006 SustainLane U.S City Ranking, “How Green is Your City?” which ranked Kansas City, Mo., 18th in its evaluation of the 50 largest cities in the U.S

Table of Contents

Introduction… 3

Sustainability in Kansas City, Mo., means 4

Letter from the city manager and chief environmental officer 6

City of Kansas City, Mo., programs and accomplishments 7

Regional initiatives 11

For more information 12

Web resources 13

Over the past two years, City of Kansas City, Mo., government leaders have directed that sustainability be integrated into all aspects of City operations Policies enacted by the mayor and City Council and implemented

by the city manager and City staff are having a significant impact on the quality of life in Kansas City These policies promote the triple bottom line goals of environmental quality, social equity and economic vitality

The mayor, City Council and city manager are together in working to incorporate “green” into the culture

of City operations The goal includes empowering staff with the knowledge and opportunities to make sustainability a basic principle in how they perform their jobs This idea is fundamental to provide the quality

of local government services that residents deserve

Introduction:

Top-level Commitment to

Sustainability in Kansas City, Mo.

The mayor and City Council have:

• Identified being a nationally-recognized green

city as a top long-term priority

• Adopted the Green Solutions Policy, which directs

City departments to incorporate green solutions

into projects, program and policies

• Adopted a Climate Protection Plan, including

goals for a 30 percent reduction in greenhouse

gas emissions community-wide and in City

government operations below year 2000 levels by

2020

• Adopted an ordinance requiring City construction

and renovation projects to achieve at minimum a

U.S Green Building Council LEED (Leadership in

Energy and Environmental Design) Silver rating

• Adopted an ordinance requiring housing projects funded by the City (including affordable housing)

to be constructed to meet federal ENERGY STAR™ ratings to reduce energy use and utility bills

• Adopted a requirement for fact sheets that accompany proposed ordinances to answer the question: How will this contribute to a sustainable Kansas City?

• Adopted an ordinance establishing a Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee charged with providing recommendations to make the city more bicycle and pedestrian friendly

• Adopted an Economic Development and Incentives Policy, which promotes sustainability and green building in economic development projects receiving financial support from the City

“returning density to our urban core where businesses

and individuals can receive City services more

efficiently.”

Mayor Mark Funkhouser

“wise use of limited resources to improve the quality

of life for all our citizens.”

Councilwoman Deb Hermann, 1st District at large

“making the connections between the economic,

social and environmental vitality of our community.”

Councilman Bill Skaggs,

1st District

“making our City a bike and pedestrian-friendly

community.”

Councilman Russ Johnson,

2nd District

“protecting and preserving our environment for

generations to come.”

Councilman Ed Ford, 2nd District at large

…”improving waste management, including

recycling, throughout the community and conserving

energy, which will result in cost savings for the city.”

Councilwoman Melba J Curls,

3rd District at large

“an opportunity to create a transportation system that

will help reduce emissions.”

Councilwoman Sharon Sanders Brooks,

3rd District

“preserving and strengthening our community

by reducing waste and raising efficiencies, while protecting resources for our future.”

Councilwoman Beth Gottstein,

4th District at large

“being a national leader in the use of green infrastructure to address the sewer and storm water problems in our neighborhoods.”

Councilwoman Jan Marcason,

4th District

“creating green collar job opportunities for inner city youth in their neighborhoods.”

Councilman Terry Riley,

5th District

“energy-efficient, high quality housing that is accessible to public transit for all residents in our community.”

Councilwoman Cindy Circo, 5th District at large

“creating a cleaner and “greener” environment, which will lead to a stronger economy and a higher quality of life for this generation and generations to come.”

Councilwoman Cathy Jolly, 6th District at large

“using City resources wisely in ways that minimize our carbon footprint while revitalizing underserved neighborhoods.”

Councilman John Sharp,

6th District

Sustainability in Kansas City, Mo., means…

Making Kansas City a nationally-recognized green city can be done by building on the success of actions already underway and implementing City and regional initiatives identified in this brochure City government working alone cannot achieve the goal of making Kansas City, Mo., a truly green city, nor will the goal be realized overnight However, with the City’s leadership and the common goals of many metro area public, private and non-profit organizations there are tremendous opportunities to leverage resources and work together

Based on a solid foundation of existing efforts and the City Council’s identification of “being a certifiable green city” as its long-term priority, the City’s Green Solutions Policy and the Climate Protection Plan provide a roadmap for making that vision a reality and for working with the many metro area partners who share this vision

The city manager:

• Tasked the Office of Environmental Quality

and chief environmental officer with promoting

sustainability in all City government operations

and developing partnerships in the metro area to

promote sustainability as a regional priority

• Directed the chief environmental officer to work

with a steering committee of community leaders

and work groups of community stakeholders

to implement a climate protection plan (with

ambitious goals for greenhouse gas reductions

and recommended actions to achieve the goals)

• Adopted a Green Solutions Administrative

Regulation to assign responsibility and set

standards for integration of green solutions in

City operations and planning and development

processes The regulation also created a Green

Team comprised of key department directors to

guide the process

• Held a two-day sustainability workshop for all department directors and key senior staff to identify strategies to incorporate sustainability into various areas of City operations, including purchasing, water, energy, capital projects, policies/permits/plans and corporate culture

• Directed the Water Services Department to develop a long-term control plan for reducing combined-sewer overflows The plan includes a strategy that aggressively integrates green and grey infrastructure into the “greenest” combined-sewer overflow program in the U.S

• Created new bike/pedestrian coordinator and citywide trails coordinator positions to provide interdepartmental coordination of infrastructure and plans (Bike KC! and Trails KC!) to make the city bike and pedestrian friendly

• Directed all City departments to develop and implement Ozone Action Plans to reduce emissions that contribute to formation of ground-level ozone

in warm weather months

The City of Kansas City, Mo has been progressive and innovative in its efforts to implement green initiatives, which represent part of a more expansive agenda to make Kansas City a truly sustainable city

Our view of sustainability incorporates green programs into a broader triple bottom line approach that simultaneously promotes social equity, economic vitality and environmental quality It is a foundation Mayor Mark Funkhouser, City Council and City management have identified as a top long-term priority in making Kansas City a national leader among local government efforts

City staff is responding to new initiatives by developing a climate protection plan

to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, a long-term control plan for reducing sewer overflows with extensive green infrastructure and a new development code to promote green solutions in land use and development

These new approaches will better serve our community and enhance the quality of life for our residents

The City is prepared to be a municipal leader in sustainability and work with public and private sector stakeholders throughout our community to make the metro area

“America’s Green Region.”

Wayne A Cauthen

City manager

City of Kansas City, Mo

Dennis Murphey Chief environmental officer City of Kansas City, Mo

Letter from the City manager and

Chief environmental off icer

We already have a solid foundation of recent “green”

accomplishments, including City activities currently

underway or proposed A partial list includes:

in the Environmental Protection Agency’s four-state

region of Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa to

adopt a climate protection plan, and has established

itself as a regional local government leader

baseline inventory of greenhouse gas emissions

for City government and community-wide, it was

discovered that City government had reduced its

emissions by 6.8 percent from 2000 to 2005, while

community-wide emissions had increased 4 percent

in the same time period The City’s greenhouse gas

reductions occurred from use of alternative fuels

in the City’s fleet and implementation of energy

efficiency measures in City buildings, water and

sewer operations, streetlights and traffic signals

Kansas City International Airport joined more than

200 of the world’s airports in signing a declaration on

climate change that was signed by industry leaders

at the Aviation and Environment Summit in Geneva,

Switzerland In signing the declaration, KCI Airport

has reaffirmed its commitment to work with all players

across the industry to target carbon-neutral growth as

a step toward a carbon-free future for aviation

recognized as having outstanding water quality SustainLane ranked the City No 1 in tap water quality among the 50 largest U.S cities in 2006 and 2008

City buildings, including City Hall and Convention Center complexes, are estimated to save $2 million annually in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 34,000 tons/year Many additional energy efficiency measures have been implemented in other City department buildings In the City’s Water Services Department, pumps and motors were replaced with energy efficient models to reduce energy use

expansion was certified by the U.S Green Building Council as a LEED Silver project

• The City’s new Vehicle Impoundment Facility (tow lot)

is under construction It is designed to achieve a LEED Gold rating from the U.S Green Building Council

• The new Southeast Community Center was designed to achieve a LEED Silver rating

City of Kansas City, Mo.,

programs and accomplishments

LEED Silver certified Ballroom

in the Kansas City Convention Center Kansas City International Airport

• The proposed Black Archives historic renovation,

the new Metro Patrol Police Station and renovation

of the Robert J Mohart MULTI-Focus Center are

designed to achieve LEED Silver ratings or higher

• The Aviation Department has committed to achieving

LEED Silver standards on projects funded with

aviation funds or as tenant reimbursement projects

Kansas City No 3 out of the 50 largest U.S cities for the

percentage of fleet vehicles (50 percent) that operate

on alternative fuels All City diesel vehicles use

biodiesel and 250 vehicles (including shuttle buses at

the KCI Airport) operate on compressed natural gas

will be a significant component of the City’s

long-term control plan for reducing sewer overflows and

reducing stormwater runoff into area streams The

City will be a national leader in using green solutions

as a strategy

initiative promotes the capture and beneficial use

of stormwater as an onsite resource at residential,

commercial and public properties The program

includes workshops, displays at home and garden

shows, distribution of brochures and a Web site

containing garden and rain barrel information,

resources, links and latest news

converted to energy-efficient, high-pressure sodium lamps

City’s traffic signals have been converted to LEDs, which use 75–90 percent less energy and last many thousands of hours, reducing costs of electricity and labor costs to change bulbs The City will continue

to convert its remaining incandescent bulb traffic signals to LEDs

Services Department captures and reuses methane generated from wastewater treatment to heat its wastewater digesters and to produce a portion of its electricity during peak demand periods The department also converted pumps and motors to energy-efficient models to reduce energy use

Works Department collected more than 21,000 tons of recyclable materials in fiscal year 2007 In addition to weekly curbside collection of residential recyclables, the City uses Bridging The Gap to operate three drop-off recycling centers The centers provide outlets for residents of multi-unit housing that do not have curbside recycling service and they accept materials not included in the curbside collection program In fiscal year 2007, 5.1 million pounds of recyclables were collected at the drop-off sites In addition, City facilities recycled 408,000 pounds of materials during the same time period The Aviation Department

provides recycling opportunities for its customers

and the airlines at the KCI Airport

• In 2007, the Solid Waste Division initiated a regional

and state award winning Event Recycling Program

Solid Waste collected and mulched more than

44,000 cubic yards of leaf and brush material At the

City’s Three Trails Community Recycling Center,

solar panels were installed to provide clean and

green energy to the facility

• In 2008 the City launched a pedestrian recycle

program providing curbside recycling to

pedestrian traffic in several business districts

and food waste recycling at our City Market The

program is designed to reduce landfilling and food

waste will be used in conjunction with yard waste

collected by the City to create premium market

ready compost

Comprehensive Solid Waste Management Plan-

The Solid Waste Division has developed a long-term

strategic plan to provide comprehensive solid waste

services in the City, including expanded recycling

by residential, commercial, City government and

construction/demolition waste generators

Mid-America Regional Council announces Ozone

Alerts, City departments implement action plans to

reduce emissions that contribute to the formation of

ground-level ozone Actions include postponement of

mowing and outdoor painting, delaying the refueling

of vehicles until late evening or early morning, use

of transit for employee commuting and avoiding unnecessary travel

Department began a program to use native plants to reduce maintenance, pollution and erosion, provide

a diverse and sustainable habitat for wild animals and help educate the public about benefits of native plantings as alternative landscaping materials In many locations, City property has been converted from turf to native plants

year 2007, the Water Services Department purchased

10 million pounds of carbon dioxide that was a waste product from a regional distillery and used it in its treatment processes The department also purchased

a significant amount of materials and treatment chemicals that contained recycled content or were waste by-products from other industrial processes

• City departments purchase ENERGY STAR™ office equipment (that use less energy) and recycled content materials including paper and toner cartridges

Playbook for green buildings and neighborhoods-

The City was a project partner with the U.S Green Building Council, the U.S Conference of Mayors, a few cities that are national leaders in climate protection (Seattle, Portland, Ore., San Francisco, Albuquerque,